College Football Picks: Michigan St., Auburn try to play spoiler

Ralph D. RussoOf The Associated Press

Spoiler season is here in college football, the time of year when being a party pooper is a worthy and honorable goal.

After most of last week's monster matchups turned out to be lopsided affairs, the next couple of weeks should be about setting up Titanic clashes on Thanksgiving weekend and championship Saturday that will help set the College Football Playoff on Dec. 2.

To get there from here, a few significant hurdles need to be cleared.

No. 8 Ohio State goes to No. 24 Michigan State on Saturday in need of two more victories to keep pace with No. 4 Michigan in the Big Ten East. The Wolverines should coast into the Big Game on Nov. 24 undefeated in the conference after playing Rutgers and Indiana. The Buckeyes get Maryland at home next week, so the only major obstacle in between yet another high-stakes Michigan-Ohio State game is the pesky Spartans, who take great pleasure in being the disruptive third-wheel in the Big Ten's most volatile relationship.

No. 6 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 West Virginia is a Big 12 matchup so nice it might get played twice. The Sooners and Mountaineers are tied for first atop the conference, moving toward a Nov. 23 showdown with playoff implications in Morgantown, West Virginia. That could set up a rematch the next week in the Big 12 title game at Arlington, Texas. As tempting as it is to look ahead, the Sooners face Oklahoma State this weekend in the Bedlam rivalry, which Oklahoma usually wins but infrequently with ease. Oklahoma State then gets West Virginia next week in Stillwater.

In the Southeastern Conference, a national championship game rematch between No. 1 Alabama and No. 5 Georgia already is set for the league title game on Dec. 1. That could turn out to be a de facto CFP quarterfinal. Auburn will have something to say about that. The Tigers visit the Bulldogs this week and, of course, finish with `Bama in the Iron Bowl on Nov. 24.

The picks:

SATURDAY

No. 18 Mississippi State (plus 24) at No. 1 Alabama

Crimson Tide have won 10 straight meetings and only twice have the Bulldogs scored more than 10 points ... ALABAMA 35-7.